1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to digital cinema systems, and in particular, to a method, system, apparatus, and article of manufacture for comparing actual digital cinema use information with contractual information.
2. Description of the Related Art.
The methods by which movies and other media programs that are distributed to theaters for display to audiences have not substantially changed in over 75 years. Theaters and distributors enter into contracts for displaying such movies. Such contracts may control how the movie is displayed, where the movie is displayed, and when the movie is displayed. Additionally, advertising contracts may be entered into for displaying advertisements prior to the movie. Similar to the movie contracts, the advertising contracts may also control how, what, where, and when the advertisement is displayed.
Once the contracts have been entered into, celluloid copies of such movies (and/or advertisements) are distributed to each theater in advance of the first showing. The same distributed copy is repeatedly displayed for audiences until the movie is excessively worn, the license expires, or the theater stops showing the movie in favor of a more popular movie.
There are several problems with this process. First, the process of manually and securely distributing physical celluloid copies of each movie is costly. Second, it is time consuming. This is especially important in circumstances where last minute changes must be made to the film before release. Such time concerns often prohibit that any such changes be made.
There is therefore a need for a method and system for distributing media programs in a rapid and inexpensive manner. As will be described further herein, the present invention solves that need by providing for the distribution of digital copies of media programs via a satellite or other high bandwidth medium For example, digital cinema systems provide the ability for distributing digital copies of motion picture “films” electronically directly to theatres running exhibitor systems.
Whether movie content and advertisements are distributed digitally or via celluloid, information regarding use data for the movie/advertisements are then reported/communicated verbally to the content owner. Such use data includes when the movie content and advertisements were displayed, where they were displayed, how they were displayed, etc. However, there are many problems associated with the verbal reporting of use data. For movie content, such verbal reporting does not ensure that the content is not being viewed at times other than those scheduled by management. For advertisements, such verbal reporting does not ensure that the content is actually being shown the required number of times. Accordingly, the prior art fails to provide an efficient and accurate accounting for content and advertisements.
What is needed is a system and method for the distribution of digital media that enables theatres, content owners, and advertisers to track and utilize use data. The present invention satisfies these needs.